“We’re in a whole new revolution that’s changing the face of education.”
Welcome to the Vanguard Gifted Academy educational blog. I’m Dr. Judy Jankowski, and I’m delighted to be a part of Vanguard’s series, Educating Children for the Future. A little about myself first — I’m a long-time special educator and the parent of a highly gifted daughter. For the past eight years, I’ve served as the Head of School at Chesapeake Bay Academy, a small independent school in Virginia Beach. CBA is a school that serves cognitively able kids with a range of learning differences. Today’s blog focuses on the need to promote our learners’ communication and collaboration skills.
A Tech-Driven Revolution in Education
Until this past year and the advent of COVID-19, school has not changed markedly since the Industrial Revolution. Now, we’re in a whole new revolution that’s changing the face of education.
Education and collaboration have been driving our civilization’s development for thousands of years. Communication aptitude — strong verbal and written language skills — has always been a central focus of education. The importance of these skills is so apparent, particularly in the 21st century.
But what’s different now? In short, the rise of technology has caused a seismic shift in the ways that we communicate. In the past 150 years, we have seen a jump in technological progress that is unmatched in human history. From the telegraph and telephone to the computer and smartphone, our ability to communicate has accelerated exponentially.
Teaching New Languages
As the tools that we use to communicate have evolved, the language that we use alongside those tools has shifted as well. We’ve created whole new vernaculars that pair with the new forms and greater speed of communication. While we still depend on the same basic communication skills we’ve always used, new tools and modes of communication place new demands on us all, particularly the educators teaching a new generation.
Literacy in written language is now just one of many literacies, including visual and media literacy. Living in an increasingly global society makes it imperative for us all to be multilingual in a broad sense. For example, many students would benefit from becoming fluent in the language of code that drives technological progress. If adapting to those new needs weren’t enough pressure on educators, we need to think not only about today’s communication skills and styles but tomorrow’s as well.
Preparing Students for a Global Future
Today, students across the globe who speak different languages can communicate through technology that translates their words in seconds. Language is evolving from simple words to digital numeric code. Emojis, memes and other visual symbols create forms of communication that do not depend on one specific language to convey meaning. What will the world look like for students who are entering kindergarten in 2021? What are the skills they’ll need to succeed when they enter the workforce?
Teaching children to use technology to communicate effectively beyond traditional reading and writing confines is necessary to prepare them for a continually evolving world. New tools and forms of communication will allow us to reach across geographical boundaries to collaborate with individuals from all sorts of backgrounds. Preparing our students to embrace those tools to the fullest and become contributing members of our global society is the new purpose of education in the 21st century.
Thanks for joining us. We hope that Vanguard Gifted Academy’s educational blog will continue to be a resource for you. If you have any comments or questions about the topics we have shared, please visit our website, or call us at (224) 213-0087. If you enjoyed learning about collaboration and communication skills, consider checking out our latest entry in the series on the importance of critical thinking.
Watch for our next installment from Elizabeth Blaetz about some interesting things that occur in schools as we teach children about character and citizenship.